John Charlton Shipley, Sr., of Centennial Mill, Voorhees, New Jersey, formerly of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, died peacefully on January 5, 2014, at age 97. John was a retired bank vice-president and lawyer in Philadelphia and a longstanding member of the New Jersey Bar. He was born May 26, 1916 of English-Irish stock, and remained a lifelong resident of Philadelphia and South Jersey. He attended Philadelphia public schools, graduating from Central High School and then Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania in the Class of 1937 after also attending Princeton University. He served in World War Two with the United States Air Force at the Headquarters of the Air Materiel Command. After military service he studied law and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1949. He was an Assistant of the President of Brown Instrument Company, a Personal Trust Officer for Camden Trust Company, and a lawyer with the Atlantic City firm of Kirkman, Mulligan, Bell and Armstrong. In 1963 he moved to Philadelphia and joined First Pennsylvania Bank, ultimately serving as Vice President and retiring in 1981. After retirement John was of counsel to the New Jersey firm of Myers, Matteo, Rabil and Norcross and remained in private practice until 1995. John was deeply involved in civic and community activities throughout his life, starting in Atlantic City and continuing after his retirement from law practice. He was an Elder of the Presbyterian Church, USA, a business counselor for SCORE tutoring after-school programs for children in Camden, and a member and president of the Batsto Citizens Committee, a non-profit support group of the historic Pinelands industrial village. He also served as coach of Cherry Hill East High School's Mock Trial teams, leading them to national championship competitions and publishing a guide to Mock Trials that was used as far away as Albania and Guam. Through his later years John traveled often throughout the United States and to the British Isles, played tennis regularly and competitive-level bridge, and retained his love for the New Jersey Pinelands and seashore. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Sons of Union Veterans and the American Legion. John is survived by his wife, Joanne K., his son John Jr., his daughter Lauren, and his grand-daughter Sabrina, all of whom will miss him dearly. Donations in his memory may be made to the John C. and Joanne K. Shipley Scholarship Fund at the Princeton Theological Seminary, which is used to assist the development of youth ministry in Christian faiths. Arrangements by The Oliver H. Bair Funeral Home. (215) 563-1580.